Gannenmono: A Legacy of Eight Generations in Hawai‘inick griffith2018-05-31T12:07:31+00:00

On display June 5, 2018 – Feb. 24, 2019,

in the historic Picture Gallery of the Hawaiian Hall complex

Exhibit honors pioneer Japanese plantation workers on the 150th anniversary of their arrival in Hawai‘i

Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum presents a new exhibit to honor the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first Japanese plantation workers to Hawai‘i – known as the gannenmono.

Illustration of the sailing ship Scioto. Bishop Museum Archives.

The gannenmono sailed from Japan to the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi aboard the Scioto. Leaving Yokohama on May 17, 1868, and arriving in Honolulu about a month later, on June 19, there were approximately 150 of them in all, including six women and a child.

Open every day 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day

Have questions about visiting the Museum? We can kōkua (help)! Call 808.847.3511 or messageask@bishopmuseum.org

Drawing from Bishop Museum’s rich plantation-era collections, Gannenmono: A Legacy of Eight Generations in Hawai‘i will use first-hand accounts, historic illustrations and authentic cultural objects to unfold the harrowing tale of the first approximately 150 Japanese workers to cross the vast Pacific from Japan to Hawai‘i, and how their trials, perseverance and victories shaped the history of the two island nations.